The future of high-fidelity medical simulation is bright, and we are happy to be a part of it! We are incredibly excited to announce a new direction and massive expansion of our simulation team. For nearly five years, BPM has worked as a trusted partner of Simulation in Motion Montana, Inc (SIM-MT). Together, we built the largest mobile simulation program in the United States. Over 16,000 learners from the Montana Army National Guard, the National Park System, the Montana Hospital Association and many others have endured experiential learning through our education program. As of August 30, 2021, BPM and SIM-MT have concluded our professional relationship. 

Most of us remember taking a CPR course where we practice on "Dead Fred," a lifeless, limbless torso of foam. This teaching practice is in a sense medical simulation.

However, the realism of this patient, and therefore the reality of the scene, is impaired by the fact that our patients are not in-fact limbless plastic torsos. By integrating state of the art simulator mannequin technology, and employing an elite team of certified simulation specialists, we break this barrier, and we train providers with a higher caliber of realism.

This study published February, 2020 in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery contributed to the substantial and growing body of research dedicated to the question, does simulation work? Can we show improved patient outcomes as a result of experiential education facilitated by the facsimile creation of life like rehearsal?

Unequivocally the answer is, yes.

The evidence base for this conclusion is neither small or narrow in its focus. Take for example this study which is assessing whether trauma teams who participate in regular high fidelity simulations show an improvement in the time it takes to establish a chest tube in a trauma patient.

"Median pretraining time for resuscitative thoracotomy was 14 minutes (IQR, 8–32 minutes); posttraining median time was 3 minutes (IQR, 2.7–8 minutes,p= 0.02)"

Read that again...

Before simulation based learning, median time to place a chest tube = 14 minutes

After simulation based learning, median time to place a chest tube = 3 minutes

The delta of this is 11 minutes.

Blood and air filling your chest cavity, placing pressure on your vena-cava likely resulting in its collapse leading to PEA cardiac arrest and the dreaded trauma arrest death spiral. An eleven minute reduction in the time to facilitate the evacuation of the blood and or air may very well be the difference between life and death.  This just one of many studies that strongly correlate the integration of serial simulation into clinical practice resulting in improved care and better patient outcomes.

We compile studies to support the impact of simulation based education in healthcare. We have identified that simulation can be reliably attributed to;

1. Improves patient outcomes
2. Reduces preventable medical error
3. Increases team performance
4. Identifies latent patient safety threats

Simulation works!

Park, C., Grant, J., Dumas, R. P., Dultz, L., Shoultz, T. H., Scott, D. J., … Cripps, M. W. (2020). Does simulation work? Monthly trauma simulation and procedural training are associated with decreased time to intervention. Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, 88(2), 242–248. doi: 10.1097/ta.0000000000002561

Simulation Team Leaders Achieve CHSE Certification, making Best Practice Medicine history.

We have crossed a major threshold in the history of Best Practice Medicine, the Project Partner for Simulation in Motion Montana Inc. We're proud to announce that Simulation Team Leaders Brodie Verworn and DJ Olson have both achieved national credentialing as a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE). To accomplish this distinguished credentialing, they spent months preparing for the exam and familiarizing themselves with validated best practices in simulation education. Created by The Society for Simulation in Healthcare, the CHSE certification "has been developed as a service to the healthcare simulation community. The CHSE certification is intended for individuals who perform healthcare simulation in the educator role without restriction to simulation modality, setting (locations where simulation takes place), geographic location, learner population, function (e.g. teaching, assessment), and profession." (1)

By the time a child turns two years old, the experts say they should be able to do all kinds of fun things like stand on tiptoes, throw a ball, and begin to show more independence. Our own "baby", the Simulation in Motion Montana (SIM-MT) program, turns 2 years old this month and we are thrilled to report that we have three healthy, thriving little mobile sim labs on our hands. They're throwing balls, standing on tiptoes, and traveling all over Montana changing lives like they were born for it. It seems like just yesterday when the little labs were a twinkle in the eye of all those who brought her into the world. Now, in just a short time, we've hit some incredible milestones, working with thousands of rural healthcare clinicians across Montana, reducing error, improving outcomes and saving lives.

Are you looking for a challenging, unique career in Emergency Medical Education, based in beautiful Bozeman Montana? We are searching for a Medical Simulation Team Leader to join our team. This position is broadly responsible for the day to day operation of the Simulation in Motion, Montana (SIM-MT) mobile lab, running individual simulation events, and managing the assigned simulation specialists. Want to know more? Keep reading for more details or apply here!

Bozeman, MT, May 29, 2019 - This just in: Best Practice Medicine, a professional medical education company, and Simulation in Motion Montana, Inc. (a partnership known as SIM-MT) are pleased to announce a new achievement in healthcare simulation accreditation. After an extensive review, the Society for Simulation in Healthcare and the Council for Accreditation of Healthcare Simulation Programs granted SIM-MT provisional accreditation, making them an official Accredited Simulation Program. The Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH) is the internationally recognized accrediting body of simulation in healthcare. This esteemed recognition makes SIM-MT the first and only SSH Accredited mobile simulation program in the world!

The golden March sunrise cuts through the cold morning fog as the ignition of two Sikorsky HH-60M Blackhawk helicopters crescendos. It’s all hands on deck at the Helena air base with a dozen Montana National Guardsmen scurrying about, rigging up for their mission. But, rather than some foreign insurgency or a dramatic mountain rescue, there is another objective in store for the day. The mission on the minds of the Guardsmen in C-Company of the 1-189th is that of refining and perfecting their medical practice so when disaster does strike, they are prepared.

Being prepared for the rare or unexpected medical emergency can be difficult for any clinician or medical team. Mobile high fidelity simulation is changing that, however, helping clinicians stay sharp and be prepared for the infrequent high consequence patient care event. In the following interview we talk with Joe Poole, Director of Education at Best Practice Medicine, about Simulation in Motion Montana -- the largest mobile high fidelity simulation project in the United States. Read or watch the full interview below.  

Last month (Feburary 8) we ran an EMS refresher course for a fantastic group of EMTs and Paramedics here at our training campus in Bozeman. As a part of that training refresher, we created a full-on dynamic, emergency medical, rescue task force simulation based around a post active-shooter scenario. It included realistic props, obscure environments, and volunteer actors/trained medical professionals wearing full moulage makeup. This kind of hyper-realistic, immersive, simulation based education helps teams prepare mentally and physically for high consequence encounters.